Student visa program's impact on national security concerns Judicial Watch
by Chad Groening and Jody Brown
February 16, 2007
(OneNewsNow.com) - - The public-interest group Judicial Watch has released records obtained from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detailing the number of Saudi Arabian nationals living in the United States on student visas. A group spokesman says the presence of thousands of Saudi students in a post-9/11 America gives the appearance that U.S. authorities have developed amnesia.According to records obtained by Judicial Watch through the Freedom of Information Act, as of January 25, 2007, there were just under 10,000 "active Saudi Arabian students" living in the U.S. on three different types of visas. The vast majority of those visas, say ICE documents, are designated for foreign students pursuing a full course of academic study.
Judicial Watch calls those records "particularly significant" in light of national security issues following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Group spokesman Chris Farrell says his organization is concerned about the impact of the student visa program on those security issues.
"Fifteen of the 19 hijackers [on 9/11] were Saudis, and you just can't escape that; that's a fact," says Farrell, whose group notes that only one of those 15 held a student visa while the others held tourist or business visas.
"Of greater concern [however]," he continues, "is that in [April] 2005, President Bush and [Saudi] Crown Prince Abdullah announced that, given the experience of 9/11 ... they were going to increase the number of Saudi student visas to the United States." Farrell says he does not think it is in the best interest of the U.S. to have thousands of Saudi nationals within its borders who, once they check into their schools, "can do whatever they want here in the United States."
"They're pretty much off to the races [once they get on campus]," he says. And given America's recent experience, Farrell comments, "it seems like we've developed amnesia."
The watchdog group also notes that, according to ICE documents dated September 2005, there were more than 600,000 active foreign students in the U.S. who were eligible for F-1 visas (full course of academic study) and M-1 visas (full course of vocational or recognized non-academic program). Farrell says Judicial Watch will continue to seek information from the U.S. government concerning the student visa program to make sure that it is not being exploited by terrorists.
